2009/08/14: UN: ‘Limited progress’ made at latest round climate talks, says top UN officialOnly “limited progress” has been made at the most recent United Nations climate change talks — which are expected to culminate later this year in Copenhagen with a new pact on slashing greenhouse gas emissions — a senior United Nations official said today. With only two more conferences, totalling 15 days, scheduled before the start of the critical event in the Danish capital, “negotiations will need to considerably pick up speed for the world to achieve a successful result at Copenhagen,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

2009/08/14: NYT:GW: Gloomy Negotiators End Bonn Climate TalksThe latest round of preparatory talks for the U.N. climate conference concluded today with negotiators lamenting that the languid pace of talks could mean there won’t be a deal on emissions in Copenhagen this December. “It would be incomprehensible if this opportunity were lost,” said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. For any hope of a deal, he said, “the speed of the negotiations must be considerably accelerated at the [next] meeting in Bangkok.” The United States’ lead climate negotiator, Jonathan Pershing, added to the warnings. “If we don’t have more movement and more consensus than we saw here, we won’t have an agreement,” Pershing said.

2009/08/14: PlanetArk: China Says Rich Up Pressure on Poor Over ClimateBonn, Germany – China accused rich nations at U.N. climate talks on Thursday of increasing pressure on the poor to do more to combat global warming while shirking their own responsibility to lead. “There has been a general feeling of unhappiness about the level of efforts that (developed nations) say they will take,” China’s climate ambassador Yu Qingtai told Reuters on the sidelines of August 10-14 climate talks in Bonn. “What is even more worrying is a continuation and even a strengthening of the tendency of trying to shift the burden to the developing countries,” he said. “That must change.” Many rich nations at the 180-nation talks, negotiating a new U.N. climate pact due to be in place in December, are far above their 2008-12 goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions under the U.N.’s existing Kyoto Protocol.

2009/08/12: Reuters: U.N. climate pact seen hinging on deeper CO2 cutsA U.N. climate deal due in December will be a flop unless industrialized nations sharply increase promised cuts in greenhouse gas emissions for 2020, the chair of a key U.N. group said on Wednesday. John Ashe, who leads work at Aug 10-14 U.N. climate talks looking at planned cuts by rich nations, said existing pledges were far short of the range of 25-40 percent below 1990 levels outlined by a U.N. scientific panel as required to avoid the worst of climate change.

2009/08/13: IndiaTimes: Climate talks: US, others refuse to discuss IPR [Intellectual Property Regime] changes to help poor get clean techThe US and other rich nations have refused to discuss any changes in the intellectual property regime that would help poor nations access clean technologies currently in private hands. The industrialized nations took the position in the resumed UN negotiations at Bonn, Germany, while opposing demands to the contrary from the developing and poor countries, including India. The US negotiators wanted the entire discussion on modifying IPR regime taken off the table. On the issue of finance too, the industrialized countries have balked at the idea of providing funds to the poor nations to undertake greenhouse gas mitigation.

2009/08/11: Reuters: Climate change fight seen costing $300 billion a yearCutting greenhouse gas emissions to slow global warming and adapting to impacts such as droughts and rising sea levels are likely to cost about $300 billion a year, the top U.N. climate change official said. Yvo de Boer also told Reuters on Tuesday, on the sidelines of August 10-14 U.N. climate talks in Bonn, that cuts in emissions by 2020 so far promised by rich nations were “miles away” from long-term goals set by a Group of Eight summit last month. “Over time, according to my own analysis, we are going to need $200 billion a year for mitigation and probably in the order of $100 billion a year for adaptation … from 2020 onwards,” he said.

2009/08/10: BBC: Time ‘runs short’ on climate dealTime is running short to agree a new treaty on global warming amid deep divisions over key issues, according to the UN’s top climate official. Speaking at the start of the latest round of UN discussions, Yvo de Boer said the political signals were positive, but progress still too slow. About 1,000 officials are meeting in Bonn for a week of informal talks. The aim is to clear the way for the adoption of a new UN climate treaty in Copenhagen in December.

2009/08/13: BBC: Australia emissions plan rejectedThe Australian parliament has rejected government plans to introduce an ambitious carbon trading scheme to tackle global warming. The measure was the centrepiece of the government’s environment plans, and would have cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5% over the next 10 years. But opposition senators who control the upper house feared the legislation would harm the country’s mining sector. The government can re-introduce the legislation after three months. Climate Change Minister Penny Wong confirmed after the Senate defeat by 42 votes to 30 that the government would seek to do this. However, if the government is defeated again it could trigger a general election.

2009/08/13: ABC(Au): Doomed emissions bill fuels election talkThe Government’s plan for an emissions trading scheme will be defeated today, sparking the next act in a political drama that could lead to an election. It is likely that Labor senators will be the only ones voting for the scheme today. The Greens say it is too weak and the Coalition says it is too rushed. When it is voted down, the Government could use it as the first step towards a trigger for a double-dissolution election by bringing it back to the Senate in three months

2009/08/14: CBC: Antarctic glacier melting at faster rate: scientistsOne of the largest glaciers in Antarctica is thinning at a rate four-times faster than just a decade ago, researchers said Friday. Researchers at the University of Leeds, writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, said the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica is thinning at a rate of up to 16 metres a year and has lowered as much as 90 metres in the last decade. At its current rate of thinning, the glacier could disappear in a century. Previous predictions, based on the glacier’s rate of decline a decade ago, said the glacier would likely disappear in 600 years.

2009/08/13: BBC: Antarctic glacier ‘thinning fast’One of the largest glaciers in Antarctica is thinning four times faster than it was 10 years ago, according to research seen by the BBC. A study of satellite measurements of Pine Island glacier in west Antarctica reveals the surface of the ice is now dropping at a rate of up to 16m a year. Since 1994, the glacier has lowered by as much as 90m, which has serious implications for sea-level rise.

Late comment on Milankovitch:

2009/08/12: Guardian(UK): Food price comparisonThe cost of basic foodstuffs and livestock in four regions of four east African countries – Katine in Uganda, Mwingi in Kenya, Babati in Tanzania and Aweil centre county in southern Sudan.

2009/08/14: BBC: US sugar supplies ‘running out’A number of large US food manufacturers have called on the government to ease sugar import limits, saying they fear the country could run out of supplies. The letter from firms such as Kraft Food and Hershey comes in the week sugar prices have hit 28 year highs due to worldwide supply shortages. […] Global sugar prices have been pushed up by growing demand in Brazil for sugar to be turned into ethanol for vehicle fuel, and a sharp fall in production in India, the world’s largest sugar consumer.

2009/08/10: BBC: Sugar price reaches 28-year high [biofuel/food conflict]The price of raw sugar has increased to its highest level since March 1981, as supply concerns grow. Raw sugar futures added 3% on Monday, to 21.55 cents a pound. “The main problem is a deficit in sugar supplies,” said Nick Penney, a trader with Sucden, a firm that focuses on sugar trading. Growing demand in Brazil for sugar to be turned into ethanol, coupled with a sharp fall in Indian production, have both prompted worries, he explained. Sugar production in India for 2008-09 fell 45% year-on-year, according to a report by Sucden. And a “drastic fall” is expected for the coming Indian crop, it said.

2009/08/10: BBSRC: Potato blight plight looks promising for food securityOver 160 years since potato blight wreaked havoc in Ireland and other northern European countries, scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) finally have the blight-causing pathogen in their sights and are working to accelerate breeding of more durable, disease resistant potato varieties.

2009/08/10: BBC: UK food research ‘needs a boost’The world’s food production needs to double by 2050 to feed the world’s growing population. But over this period, climate change, reduced access to water and changing land use are likely to make growing crops harder rather than easier. Scientists are trying to find new ways of using fewer resources to produce more food.

2009/08/15: BBC: Taiwan leader in typhoon apologyPresident Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan has apologised for the slow official response to Typhoon Morakot. “We could have done better and we could have been faster,” he told reporters one week after the typhoon struck. Hundreds of people are still trapped by mudslides and floods. More than 120 have been confirmed dead. Families of nearly 400 people feared dead in the village of Hsiaolin returned there on Saturday to the site to grieve for their loved ones.

2009/08/13: CBC: Taiwan adds troops for typhoon reliefThe Taiwan military deployed thousands more troops to its southern regions on Thursday as criticism mounted about the government’s dealing with the devastating aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. About 4,000 more troops were sent into the region on Thursday to aid the 10,000 already in the area dealing with survivors who have been left stranded by the storm. Morakot struck Taiwan on the weekend and dumped more than two metres of rain before moving on to China. The storm washed out roads and bridges and triggered devastating mudslides that have engulfed entire villages.

2009/08/12: CNN: Typhoon survivors find sanctuary in schoolA school in Taiwan town of Nei Pu becomes a refuges for typhoon survivors – Helicopters filled with survivors land on the athletic field – Some survivors are waiting for news about relatives – Others find a place to sleep for the first time since Saturday’s typhoon

2009/08/12: CBC: Taiwan mudslide survivors found [Typhoon Morakot]About 1,000 people feared dead following a mudslide in Taiwan have been found alive, officials reported Wednesday. The mudslide engulfed several remote villages after Typhoon Morakot pummeled the island with more than two metres of rain over the weekend. Officials said many people from the villages appear to have scrambled up the slopes to higher ground before the mud and rock covered their homes.

2009/08/11: BBC: ‘Hundreds lost’ in Taiwan typhoonHundreds of people are feared dead in Taiwan after Typhoon Morakot triggered a mudslide that buried an entire village on the south-west coast. Officials said about 600-800 people are missing in Shiao Lin village after part of the mountain collapsed on sleeping villagers’ homes on Monday morning. Most of the dead are thought to be the elderly and children. Elsewhere in Taiwan, the number of confirmed deaths is 37, with 35 injured and 52 missing, officials said. Typhoon Morakot dropped some 2m (80in) of rain on Taiwan this weekend, causing the worst flooding in decades.

2009/08/10: BBC: China evacuates as storm strikesNearly one-million people have been evacuated from the coastal regions of China as Typhoon Morakot blew in. […] Meanwhile, in Japan nine people are reported dead [& 10 missing] in floods and landslides after Typhoon Etau brought heavy rain to the west of the country.

Yes we have feedbacks:

Regarding the uncertainties of clouds:

2009/08/10: KU: Missing Link to Cloud Formation FoundNew chemical research shows how cloud seedlings form over forested areas. The discovery of an unknown hitherto chemical compound in the atmosphere may help to explain how and when clouds are formed. The discovery of the so called dihydroxyepoxides (an aerosol-precursor), is reported in this week’s issue of Science by a team comprising of researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Copenhagen (UoC).

2009/08/12: CBC: Satellite radar to track Sask. cropsCanada researchers will be keeping a close eye on a Saskatchewan farm this growing season as part of an international effort to better track changes in agriculture from orbit. The European Space Agency has chosen Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Indian Head, Sask., research farm as one of three locations it will monitor in 2009 with the aid of radar imagery.

2009/08/10: BBC: ‘Crisis satellite’ returns imagesBritain’s latest imaging satellite has returned its first pictures. UK-DMC2 was launched with a twin spacecraft, Deimos-1, on a Dnepr rocket from Kazakhstan last month. The platforms have joined the Disaster Monitoring Constellation, which is used to obtain rapid information about areas struck by natural calamities.

2009/08/10: BBC: Species climbing to new heightsGrowing numbers of wildlife have pushed northwards into Scotland from other parts of the UK and also to higher altitudes, according to experts. Conservationists suspect climate change has allowed warmth-loving creatures – including snakes and dragonflies – to move into new regions.

2009/08/13: TP:WR: Ken Bacon’s Gift To The Future: The Center for the Study of Climate DisplacementOn Monday, Refugees International (RI) announced the establishment of a new center to address “the needs of the tens of millions of people expected to be displaced by climate change.” Kenneth Bacon, RI’s president, and his wife Darcy have provided the seed money for the Ken and Darcy Bacon Center for the Study of Climate Displacement, with additional support from the UN Foundation and the Refugees International board.

2009/08/11: CBC: Hundreds return home as B.C. wildfires coolHundreds of people across B.C. forced from their communities because of wildfires will be headed home on Tuesday as rain and cooler temperatures help firefighters reduce the wildfire threat. But with hundreds of fires still burning across the province, more than 1,800 people remain under evacuation orders, and thousands more remain under evacuation alerts, ready to leave their homes at a moment’s notice.

2009/08/13: BBC: India’s water use ‘unsustainable’Parts of India are on track for severe water shortages. according to results from Nasa’s gravity satellites. The Grace mission discovered that in the country’s northwest – including Delhi – the water table is falling by about 4cm (1.6 inches) per year.

2009/08/11: EarthTimes: A quarter of India’s districts face risk of droughtMore than a quarter of India’s districts face the risk of drought due to scanty monsoon rains, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday. The poor rains resulted in a 20 per cent decline in sowing of summer crops, but there was no reason to panic, Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of an annual conference of income tax officials. His comments came amid concern over rising food prices and fears that a low crop output would further pull down economic growth, which was hit by the global downturn and was showing feeble signs of recovery. Nearly 60 per cent of India’s farming sector depends on the seasonal monsoon rains which come between June and September. The Meteorology Department has predicted a 25 per cent shortfall as the season nears its end.

2009/08/11: BBC: How aviation can clean up its actThe aviation industry – a rapidly expanding sector – is looking for ways to secure its fuel supplies without increasing greenhouse gas emissions, says Fred Dryer. In the Green Room this week, he outlines some of the options available to deliver these goals.

While in the endless quest for zero energy, sustainable buildings and practical codes:

2009/08/12: E2T: Report: Policy Changes, $500B Investment Needed for Home Retrofits[…] Here’s some background: Buildings account for 40 percent of total energy use, but much of the housing and building stock is old, inefficient and wasteful. Half of the buildings that will be standing in 30 years are already built, so any successful strategy to increase the efficiency of the built environment must include retrofits, the report says. Deep building retrofits can cut energy use by 20 percent to 40 percent with “off-the-shelf technologies” and pay for themselves from the energy they save. Besides reducing energy demand and lowering carbon emissions, these investments create local jobs.

2009/08/11: SacBee: UC Davis wants new ‘village’ to be affordably greenThe idea that green buildings can make financial as well as environmental sense is central to California’s plans to fight global warming. Now, a housing project at the University of California, Davis, will test whether it works on a large scale, using a $2 million grant awarded Monday by the California Energy Commission. The goal is to make the new 4,000-resident West Village student and faculty housing development the nation’s largest “zero net energy” community — one that produces as much energy in a year as it draws from natural gas pipelines and the electrical grid.

2009/08/13: IndiaTimes: Climate talks: US, others refuse to discuss IPR [Intellectual Property Regime] changes to help poor get clean techThe US and other rich nations have refused to discuss any changes in the intellectual property regime that would help poor nations access clean technologies currently in private hands. The industrialized nations took the position in the resumed UN negotiations at Bonn, Germany, while opposing demands to the contrary from the developing and poor countries, including India. The US negotiators wanted the entire discussion on modifying IPR regime taken off the table. On the issue of finance too, the industrialized countries have balked at the idea of providing funds to the poor nations to undertake greenhouse gas mitigation.

2009/08/14: PlanetArk: EU Carbon Ignores Aussie Carbon Plan RejectionPrices for European carbon emissions futures ignored Australia’s rejection of an emissions trading scheme on Thursday, rising with firmer German power and oil prices, traders said. “The market doesn’t really look at any of this global stuff,” a European carbon emissions trader said. Australia’s parliament rejected a plan for an ambitious emissions trade regime as expected on Thursday, bringing the nation closer to a snap election and prolonging financial uncertainty for major emitters.

2009/08/10: PlanetArk: NAFTA Leaders Urged To Rein In “Buy Local”ImpulsesNorth American business groups urged leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada on Friday to rein in “buy local” provisions they called a threat to free trade and economic growth. “In this global economic downturn, it is imperative that the three countries work together more intensively than ever to make the most of their strengths and set the stage for robust and sustained economic recovery,” the North American Competitiveness Council said.

2009/08/12: NEN: If climate change is a hoax, why is the military planning for it?Summary: While some U.S. civilian conservatives believe the proposition of climate change-induced extreme weather events and resulting human crises are the product of Al Gore’s imagination, the U.S. military has begun doing intelligence studies and running war game-like exercises that demonstrate they believe strategic security challenges second to climate change are a very real possibility.

The issue of the law and activism is playing out around the world as nations scramble to deal with climate change:

2009/08/13: TreeHugger: Captain Paul Watson of Whale WarsThe Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is at work all over the world, but you’ll know Paul Watson best for patrolling Arctic waters intercepting whaling convoys. Whale Wars, now in its second season on Animal Planet, follows Watson and his feisty crew aboard the Steve Irwin as they ram boats, hurl stink bombs, and try to otherwise spoil the whale hunt. In the process, Watson claims he has been shot and his crew pummeled with fire hoses, golf balls, and high-tech sound cannons. All the while the debate rages over whether this is terrorism, piracy, or heroism.

2009/08/10: NYT: Alaska Lawmakers Override Palin VetoIn a final spat with former Gov. Sarah Palin, the Alaska Legislature voted Monday to override her veto of $28.6 million in federal stimulus funds intended for energy efficiency projects. Palin, who resigned July 26 with 17 months left in her term, had vetoed the money that the state can use for almost anything that will reduce energy costs, from retrofitting public buildings and homes to energy efficiency audits, lighting upgrades and public transit. Palin cited ”strings” that could bind the state to federal codes for constructing buildings.

2009/08/10: FTimes: Oil sands test of Obama’s green credentialsThe Obama administration faces a test of its environmental credentials in deciding whether to approve a pipeline carrying greenhouse gas-intensive oil sands fuel from Canada into the US. Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, is expected to decide as early as this month whether to approve the Alberta Clipper, a 1,000-mile pipeline designed to carry up to 800,000 barrels a day of fuel from Canada’s vast oil sands. Environmentalists say doing so would be at odds with the green economy pledged by the administration.

2009/08/10: Reuters: U.S. biofuel makers want CO2 credits in climate billMakers of biofuels and plastics and chemicals made from crops want U.S. senators to change the climate bill to give them free pollution permits that would be needed to emit greenhouse gases under the legislation. Companies that make the alternative motor fuel ethanol and plastics from renewable biomass, rather than fossil fuels, have visited Senate offices to urge that 1 percent to 5 percent of the emissions permits in a cap and trade program outlined in the bill be given to the businesses from 2012 to 2050.

2009/08/13: Grist: Big Oil holding ‘town halls’ on climate billFollowing in the footsteps of the corporate-backed protest movement against health care reform, a group founded and funded by business interests opposed to regulating greenhouse gas pollution is planning a series of rallies to oppose the climate legislation being considered by Congress.

2009/08/12: ABC(Au): Work starts on Whyalla solar projectThe foundations are being laid for a $15 million solar plant at Whyalla. A demonstration plant of four big dishes will combine solar power with ammonia energy storage technology. Whyalla’s deputy mayor Eddie Hughes says it is great to see something tangible after nearly 13 years of planning.

2009/08/10: ABC(Au): Wong savages ‘mongrel’ carbon planThe Government and Opposition are still at loggerheads over an emissions trading scheme despite the release of Coalition modelling today proposing changes that could make it cheaper and greener. And the Greens have also criticised the changes put forward, accusing the Opposition of “cobbling together” an alternative scheme. The Government has dismissed a report released by the Coalition and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon which has proposed several changes to the scheme.

There has been a lot of wrangling after the CPRS was voted down:

2009/08/16: ABC(Au): Oppn presses on with climate bill talksOpposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says he is prepared to negotiate in good faith with the Government with the aim of getting the renewable energy target bill passed. Mr Turnbull says he is pleased the Federal Government backed down from its decision to link its renewable energy plan to the contentious emissions trading scheme. The Federal Government has decided to split the renewable energy target from the emissions trading scheme, in the hopes of finally pushing it through the Senate.

2009/08/13: ABC(Au): Emissions trading arguments evoke slavery debateIt may seem like a long bow to draw, but the arguments against the emissions trading scheme draw parallels with the 1806 debate in the British parliament to abolish slavery, writes St James Ethics Centre executive director Dr Simon Longstaff. While I know many of the critics of the Government’s proposed emissions trading scheme to be entirely sincere, I wonder if they have inadvertently adopted a stance in which economic considerations have taken primacy over all others. It is easy enough to do – as invoking economics seems to avoid the underlying ethical issues that must be addressed.

2009/08/14: ABC(Au): Govt considers splitting climate change billsThe Federal Government is under pressure from the Opposition and the Greens to reintroduce its bill for a 20 per cent renewable energy target to the Senate as early as next week. The bill is linked to the Government’s emissions trading legislation, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), which was yesterday rejected by the Senate. The Government has promised to reintroduce the CPRS bill to parliament this year and could be handed a double-dissolution election trigger should it be rejected again in three months’ time. But renewed calls to split the bills have come amid warnings that a delay in passing the renewable energy targets would put green jobs at risk.

2009/08/12: BBC: Indian land ‘seriously degraded’At least 45% of Indian land is environmentally “degraded”, air pollution is rising and flora and fauna is diminishing, according to a report. The State of Environment Report is the first to be published for eight years and is the first to use satellite imagery to support its findings. It focuses on water, energy, food, climate change and urbanisation.

2009/08/10: CSM: China’s green leap forwardFacing dire pollution and wanting to be in on what may be the next industrial revolution, China positions itself to be a leader in green technology — with major implications for the rest of the world.

2009/08/10: ChronicleHerald: Renewing Nova Scotia’s futureEvery week, as part of my job, I read hundreds of clean-technology articles, following billions of dollars flowing through every major economy — the EU, U.S., China, South Korea, Japan. That money ignores Canada because the Harper Conservatives have put all our eggs into the Alberta tarsands basket.

Ontario has it’s Green Energy Act, now comes the implementation:

Meanwhile in that Mechanical Mordor known as the tar sands:

2009/08/14: CanWest: Alberta frets over U.S. climate change tariff billThe Alberta government is worried about a provision in a U.S. climate change bill that would grant the president the power to slap tariffs on imports that have a carbon footprint larger than American-made goods. In a recent interview with the Calgary Herald, Premier Ed Stelmach said the province is keeping close watch on the Clean Energy and Security Act, also known as the Waxman-Markey bill.

2009/08/10: FTimes: Oil sands test of Obama’s green credentialsThe Obama administration faces a test of its environmental credentials in deciding whether to approve a pipeline carrying greenhouse gas-intensive oil sands fuel from Canada into the US. Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, is expected to decide as early as this month whether to approve the Alberta Clipper, a 1,000-mile pipeline designed to carry up to 800,000 barrels a day of fuel from Canada’s vast oil sands. Environmentalists say doing so would be at odds with the green economy pledged by the administration.

2009/08/14: PhysOrg: Italy launches first clean hydrogen power plantItalian power company Enel said Friday that it had started up a ground-breaking hydrogen-powered electricity plant producing no greenhouse gases. Enel said the 12 megawatt plant, at Fusina in Venice’s industrial zone of Porto Marghera, was the first of its kind in the world to operate on such a scale. Powered by hydrogen by-products from local petrochemical industries…

2009/08/13: NEN: Natural gas, a bridge not so farSummary: Natural Gas; A Bridge Fuel for the 21st Century by John Podesta of the Center for American Progress (CAP) and Timothy E. Wirth of the Energy Future Coalition, re-emphasizes the growing approval of natural gas by progressive Democratic leadership.

2009/08/09: NEN: Will Australia capture the ocean energy prize?Summary: BioPower Systems, a start-up owned by Australian Timothy Finnigan and backed by Australian venture capital, has ocean energy pilot programs supplying power to Australia’s Flinders Island and King Island, and the big European ocean energy developers are taking note.

2009/08/13: FTimes: Q-Cells to cut 500 solar jobsQ-Cells, the world’s biggest manufacturer of solar cells, on Thursday announced it would sack almost 20 per cent of its workforce in response to a slump in demand and a sharp drop in the price for solar components. The company said it would cut “permanently” around 500 jobs at its Thalheim plant in eastern Germany as part of a wide-ranging restructuring plan.

2009/08/12: ABC(Au): Work starts on Whyalla solar projectThe foundations are being laid for a $15 million solar plant at Whyalla. A demonstration plant of four big dishes will combine solar power with ammonia energy storage technology. Whyalla’s deputy mayor Eddie Hughes says it is great to see something tangible after nearly 13 years of planning.

2009/08/11: NEN: Sun shines brighter in tough timesSummary: Installing a home solar system has never been more affordable. Prices are falling, state and federal incentives are rising and ownership opportunities in the form of financing deals and lease or lease-like deals are expanding. The cost depends on 4 factors: (1) System size; (2) Panel price; (3) State rebate; (4) Federal Investment Tax Credit.

Yes we have a peak oil sighting:

2009/08/09: FTimes: Crisis and climate force supply chain shiftManufacturers are abandoning global supply chains for regional ones in a big shift brought about by the financial crisis and climate change concerns, according to executives and analysts. Companies are increasingly looking closer to home for their components, meaning that for their US or European operations they are more likely to use Mexico and eastern Europe than China, as previously. “A future where energy is more expensive and less plentifully available will lead to more regional supply chains,” Gerard Kleisterlee, chief executive of Philips, one of Europe’s biggest companies, told the Financial Times. Supply chain experts agreed, with Ernst & Young underlining how as much as 70 per cent of a manufacturing company’s carbon footprint can come from transport and other costs in its supply chain.

2009/08/14: CanWest: Canada’s electric carmaker skids on economy, oil pricesShares of Zenn Motor Co tumbled as much as 17.6% on Friday after the maker of electric cars reported a deeper quarterly loss and a big drop in revenue as the weak economy and low oil prices cut into sales of its zero-emission vehicles. The company lost $2.6-million, or 8 cents a share in its third quarter ended June 30, compared with $1.9-million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier

2009/08/13: BBC: Russia set for scrappage schemeRussia is set to introduce its own car scrappage scheme following the success of similar programmes in the US and Europe in boosting car sales. The Russian Industry and Trade Ministry said the scheme could be introduced in January next year. Russian media reports say that a 50,000 ruble ($1,567; £942) incentive will be given to motorists who trade in their old car and buy a new one.

2009/08/12: Reuters: Auto inventories tight, U.S. “clunker” interest slipsRed hot auto sales under the U.S. government’s “cash for clunkers” incentive began to cool as dealer inventories tightened and showroom traffic showed signs of leveling off from its frantic pace of a week ago. One industry analysis released on Tuesday forecast a steady decline in “clunker” related business even though the Obama administration and Congress added $2 billion to the program in recent days with hopes of matching the success of its first weeks. Sales during that period topped 250,000 and rebates exceeded $1 billion at least, according to government and industry figures.

2009/08/10: BBC: Scrappage scheme at half-way markAlmost 155,000 new cars have been ordered through the government’s scrappage scheme since it was launched in May, official figures show. This means that more than half of the money set aside to fund the scheme has been spent.

Here’s a mouthful for you — Abwrackprämie [wreck rebate]:

2009/08/09: TreeHugger: Automotive “Methadone Program” (AKA Cash for Clunkers) Leads to Relapse in GermanyWhile the spotlight has recently shown brightly on the US iteration of the Cash for Clunkers program, Germany — whose program Abwrackprämie or “wreck rebate” — has been going at it since January. According to a NY Times article, Germany has dwarfed the US’s efforts, with a $7 billion dollar budget and timeframe through the end of the year. All this is swell except for one detail: many of the polluting cars are not being scrapped.

P.S. Recent postings can be found in the week archive and the ancient postings can be accessed here, which should open to this.

“What has happened down here, is the winds have changed,Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain,It rained real hard, and it rained for a real long time,Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline —Oh, Louisiana, Louisiana —they’re trying to wash us away –“-Randy Newman